A SURVEY of Leeds' property market has revealed that all seven of the new construction starts in the city this year have links to the education sector, six of which are on the main campus of the University of Leeds.
The Leeds Crane Survey, the fourth by property consultants Drivers Jonas, counted 15 new starts last year, showing how the UK recession has halted development in the city's retail, residential and office markets.
However, DJ said the city's property market was well placed to recover quickly when the wider economy returns to growth as the current low development levels will mean supply is quickly taken up.
The firm, which opened its Leeds office two years ago, has also highlighted several major planning permissions developers are proceeding with as signs of long-term confidence in the city's economy.
These include Reland's eight-acre site adjacent to Clarence Dock where around 1m sq ft of residential space is set to be built, as well as the huge mixed use scheme of Wellington Place and the Leeds Arena.
The Crane Survey also showed that residential is reportedly the sector worst affected by the downturn with new completions down by 60% from 2008.
Tom Devine, head of DJ's Leeds-based strategic consulting team, said: "While Leeds' position within the financial and professional services sector has left its property market exposed to the global banking crises and recession, the strength of the city as a civic centre is clear from the high number of starts by the universities.
"The long-term prospects are also good, with big schemes like Trinity and Eastgate on the horizon as well as other substantial projects in the planning pipeline.
Meanwhile, 98,000 sq ft of office leasing transactions have taken place in the last three months in Leeds city centre, with a substantial increase in new tenant enquiries reported over the same period, according to Jones Lang LaSalle's third quarter Leeds office market headlines.
Jeff Pearey, head of Jones Lang LaSalle's Leeds office, said: "Traditionally, the summer months see lower levels of transactional activity in the city centre office market but, pleasingly, our findings show nearly double the amount of office space was leased during the period between June and September 2009 when compared to the second quarter of this year."